It would have been nice to reward the Frome Town FC coach with a special present in his birthday week, but sadly it wasn't to be as the home side were knocked out of the FA Trophy by a confident Torquay United.

That said, there were missed chances, a penalty which will doubtless haunt one of The Robins' top players, and just a smattering of paint on a goal post and it could have been a very different outcome up at a blustery ground on December 9.

Frome knew they were going into this tie very much under dogs, but as we all know anything can happen in football, and with a bracing wind on their side as the match kicked off, it seemed that the reds were putting on all the pressure. Then just as quickly the Gulls seemed to find their stride and scored twice in quick succession to put them 2:0 up going into half time.

Back out and the visiting side again scored twice within a few minutes, and it felt like the game was already done, with some fans already starting to leave.

But Frome showed great resilience and some very nifty footwork, to keep the pressure on, and were finally rewarded with a late goal by Sam Meakes.

And again, they fought on until the last moments, doggedly pushing up the field, and running some important rings against the Devon side.

Again, not the result they had dreamt off, but in front of a huge crowd of 1,305, Frome Town FC can hold up their heads. As one fan posted on their results page, they were up against a good side, but they met them with some great attitude... onwards and upwards.